A whopping 42 per cent of women in the age group of 15-49 years are facing physical or sexual violence in the State against national average of 35 per cent.
Women and Child Welfare Minister Usha Devi informed this in the Assembly in a written reply to a question of BJP MlA Dilip Ray on Wednesday. The Minster said this has been figured in the State Girls and Women Policy on the basis of National Household Healthy Survey-3 conduced in 2005-06.
She further informed that 67 per cent girl children in the 6-59 month age group suffer from anaemia and the State recorded Infant Mortality Rate at 53, which is an average of death of 52 male children and 54 female children per 1,000 births. The Minister, however, stated that the MMR has come down to 235 in 2012 from 258 in 2009 per 1 lakh mothers giving live births.
The Minister further informed that the State Government has taken many steps to check violence against women. “A protection officer has been appointed in every district to rescue women from domestic violence. Besides, 537 woman and child desks have been opened in police stations and Swadhar Home, Ujjwala Home, Short-stay Home and Family Councelling Centers are providing services to the women,” she said.
An on One-Stop Centre (Shakti) has been opened in the Capital Hospital to provide healthcare and moral strengths to girls and women victims of different violence.
She too informed that lCCs and ICCs have been opened in Government offices to check women violence at work places. To check malnutrition, schemes like Mamata Yojana and Sabala Yojana have been introduced by the Government.